DOCtober Anyone?

4 Phillies, 0 Reds

Good thing John Lackey is just as good as this guy or I would be pissed. Roy Halladay just really shut the mouth of his critics who questioned how he was going to do in the playoffs seeing this is his first time out there. Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history, leading the Philadelphia Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Wednesday. Unlike many other no-hitters this was a no doubter, there was no drama, no great plays that needed to be made, just Roy and the catcher playing catch all day. What really got me was why the Reds were taking the first pitch seeing how he was starting out 0 and 1 80% of the game. Roy Halladay is one of my favorite pitchers and guys who I respect the most. Anyways, stick a fork in the Reds, no one can overcome the major cockslap that was just done on them.

5 Rangers, 1 Tampa Bay
The guy who was traded for Roy Halladay didn't have a shabby game either. Cliff Lee threw 7 innings allowing 5 hits, 1 run and striking out 10. He completely owned this Rays offense and put the Rangers in a great position to win the series is CJ Wilson can do what he did during the regular season. Meanwhile, Cy Young candidate David Price had a first game that left something to be desired. He pitch 6.2 innings let up 5 runs (4 earned) and struck out 8. It's a shame because with James Shields pitching crappy and Matt Garza being inconsistent the Rays could be in a bit of trouble.

6 Yankees, 4 Twins

I went to bed when the Twins were up 3-0 and seemed to have this game in hand and then I woke up to get reminded by my Yankee fan gf that the Yankees won 6-4. Sweet way to start your day.

Trouble in Beantown

It has not been a pleasant three days of sporting events for Boston sports fans since the Red Sox were gearing up for Game 2 of the ALCS and trying to take a 2-0 lead on the Rays. As is the case so often, things have changed rapidly since early Saturday evening. The Sox lost a 11-inning affair to the Rays in which their hopes were resting on the right shoulder of Mike Timlin. The next night, our beloved Patriots were embarrassed on national TV by a team that didn't have its top receiver playing and whose running back isn't 100 percent. Hope was abound heading into last night's contest as we had our ace going against a guy who could blow up at any moment in Matt Garza. A 10-1 loss later, here we are. Down 2-1 and the momentum from Game 1 has clearly subsided and seems like it was weeks ago.

As we sit here waiting for Game 4, the question no longer is what the Sox need to do. That is the obvious: David Ortiz needs to be David Ortiz while Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Varitek need be factors again. After watching runner after runner stay stranded on base last night the question now is why is this happening?

All of the national pundits are saying that this lineup doesn't have enough firepower to come back from deficits and that this team is clearly missing Mr. Dreadlocks. I don't see lack of firepower as the problem here. The way this offense is run can work, as evidenced in the Angels series. The past two games the Red Sox haven't been "finishing" after doing the little things like putting the lead off man or moving a runner to third with less than two outs. They've had men on base for the most part, they just haven't been able to hit with runners in scoring position. This goes back to the three "black wholes" in the lineup.

I don't think Ortiz is that far off from becoming a force again. His timing is indeed off but baseball really can be a game of confidence. This is ironic because of the way Ortiz jabbed at the Rays after the Game 1 victory but if he can just get a solid, line-drive hit tonight I think it would do wonders for his psyche. David Ortiz is never lacking outward confidence. What I'm wondering is if he's starting to wonder if he's going to get it going for this team in time. Like I said, a hit early on would be huge for him.

As for Ellsbury, his issues are mainly seeded in his mechanics. He is hitting the ball in the air and not putting pressure on the defense, that we know. I think he is trying too hard to drive the ball these days. He is feeling the pressure of a lineup that isn't hitting homeruns (save for the three homer inning in Game 2). Dave Magidan needs to go back to the basics with him and straighten out his now-uppercut swing. It's a very correctable problem and hopefully the adjustments are made.

Going into the series I was aware the 25 homerun-hitting Varitek wouldn't be making an appearance but he is no longer putting up competitive at bats. If he's not going to hit, the least he can do is make the pitcher work and attempt to grind out an at bat. By the end of the game last night, it was apparent to everyone watching that he was meekly hoping to draw a walk.

If any of these three can get it together, the offense will be fine. We don't need the 3-run homer. We need one-third of our lineup to have solid at bats and to have any sort of success with RISP.

Garza was very impressive last night and I knew he had the potential to be that good. I was hoping he would get rattled by a few runners on base but he calmly and effectively squashed each Red Sox rally. He located his fastball with precision and was able to get his breaking ball over when the Sox hitters least expected it (especially David Ortiz).

I know we all expected John Lester to go Orel Hershiser via '88 on us and dominate the whole post season but things don't always turn out that way. Simply put, Lester didn't have it last night. You could tell even in his 1-2-3 first inning there was something off. His fast ball was moving into the heart of the plate, not in on the hands of batters. B.J. Upton was fooled in his first at bat of the game but definitely wasn't in his second. He ended up with a line of 4 ER in 5 2/3 IP but it could have been even worse than that. These Rays hitters were aggressive and ready to pounce on missed locations.

So now the eyes of the Fenway Faithful will be focusing on the amount of movement the knuckle ball of Time Wakefield has tonight. The fact that tonight's game could turn into a shoot-out is the reason why I said last night's game was of such importance. Let's hope the 10-11 mph wind has that knuckler dancing like Mo Vaughn's favorite Foxy Lady employee.

Very Long Weekend Ends With Sox Embarrassment

Saturday night's tough extra inning defeat, coupled with the Patriots' hardships in California were made bearable because Jon Lester was pitching on Monday. Jon Lester would make things good again for Boston sports fans. Jon Lester would shut down the Rays, and the Sox would be up 2-1 in the ALCS.

Jon Lester came, he saw, he got knocked around.



He dominated the first two innings. The Rays drew a cheap run in the 2nd thanks to a missed strike call, a passed ball, and a bloop single. But Lester fell apart in the 3rd, giving up a single, a double, and a pair of homeruns. He put himself together and pitched well after that, but sufficient damage had been done.

Why was 5 runs enough to end a game in the 3rd inning?

Because this offense has decided not to hit, or at least not to hit at the right times. Ortiz + Youkilis + Drew = 1 for 12 with a single and 5 Ks. Ellsbury is 0 for his last 20. Ortiz is 1 for his last 17. It's one thing to have Varitek and Cora struggling, it's something entirely different to have your leadoff hitter and middle of the lineup slugger unable to do anything at the plate.



The offensive woes have been frustrating. But the starting pitching has given two very shabby performances the last two games. Had Beckett made a solid start Saturday night, the Sox would be up 2-1, not down 1-2. Playoff baseball is won and lost by pitching, not hitting. And for the last 19 innings, that pitching has been dreadful.

The news doesn't get much better. Andy Sonnanstine takes on Tim Wakefield Tuesday night. Sonnansitine pitched 13 innings against the Sox this year without allowing an earned run. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Ortiz, and Youkilis are a combined 10 for 55 (.182) against him. Wakefield, on the other hand, was 0-2 against Tampa, with a 5.87 ERA.

But anything can happen. And at the very least, we won't have to suffer through 4 Jason Varitek at-bats. And at least none of our pitchers worship Satan.



Finally, did you know that Rocco Baldelli is from Woonsocket, RI? You'd think the TBS guys might have mentioned it at least once.

Commandor
Boston Blood

Mets require heimlich maneuver again

The Mets fell this afternoon to the Marlins capping off their second straight september choke. Honestly, i'm so happy im not a mets fan and i will tell you why. not only was it the last game at Shea...ever, but it was a heartbreaking game when they needed a lift so badly. And say what you want about their bullpen, yea they gave up two homers to eventually lose the game, but what about the offense? You cant go into a must win game and score only 2 runs. David wright went 0-5 in the most important game of the year. Everything would have been forgiven if they could only pull off 1 win. What a shame.

Now the Brewers will travel to ole Philly while the Dodgers go to Wrigley.
(thanks Lester)

The Kings Of Choking

After the Mets lost 9-6 to the Cubs, the Brewers took advantage of it behind the arm of CC Sabathia and beat the Pirates 4-2. CC is now 10-2 in the National League and I really wish he could win the Cy Young. He has been everything and more for the Brewers sporting 1.78 era along with 121 Ks in 121 innings. Although I believe that this is the Cubs year, I want to see the Brewers make it and another Met collapse.

Cough, Cough, Choke

The White Sox were up three games over the Twins headed into the series two days ago, and now they are only up one. First Ozzie Guillen challenges Javier Vazquez and it fails miserably, then Nick Blackburn fought through five innings, until his bullpen shut down the White Sox for the rest of the game. It is amazing what the Twins have done this season even if they do not make the play-offs. Their pitching staff is composed of 24, 25, and 26 year olds and they are fighting for play-off position. Even though I love Griffey Jr. I would love to see the Twins beat out the White Sox for the rest of the year.

Red Sox Are In Play-Offs

The Sox officially made it into the play-offs and most likely playing the Angels. Not worried at all.

Baseball News

Yesterday the Tampa Bay Rays clinched a play-off spot in the AL and probably are going to win the East. At first I didn't take the Rays seriously, but after the continuously beat the Sox, I am scared shitless of this team. They remind me of the 03 Florida Marlins, have sick pitching and have a bunch of young guys who are fast and awesome. They are a very fundamental team and that scares me.

It's their year.

Angels Clinch Play-Offs

When the Red Sox were losing in the 14th inning yesterday, the Angels beat the Yankees 4-2 clinching the first play-off birth of this season. The Angels could have been arguably the best team in baseball from start to finish. With a Pitching staff led by Lackey, Santana, and Saunders and the automatic save getter K-Rod this team will bea force to be reckoned with come play-offs. The only question with the Angels is their lack of run production. The addition of Torii Hunter and Mark Texieria(?) have helped out greatly. However, the Sox have had the Angels number pretty much every play-offs so we will see.